No More Chains
by nature-lover2003
Summary: A mysterious craft crashes on Earth just outside of Bellwood. Ben and his team learn that the occupant is a potentially dangerous being. What connection does Reinrassig III have to this person? And will his heart get in the way? (Rated for violence, some brief language, possible innuendo, and other themes.)
1. Chapter 1

**(A/N: I just want to say that I hope you enjoy reading this story. Now, peril and violence will be apart of this, along with some foul language here and there, but not very much, and brief innuendo, along with nudity in non-graphic detail. I just thought I'd say it now instead of later in case any of these are potential triggers, which I hope they aren't, but I just thought I'd tell everyone who reads this just in case.**

**Anyway with that taken care of, a lot of elements in this story take inspiration from biblical stories. To be more specific, the stories and legends regarding the fallen angels, demons, the Great Flood, and the Nephilim.)**

X~V~X-**O**-**O**-**O**-X~V~X

April 2010 New York - twenty miles outside of Bellwood

One cold rainy night, a winged, egg-shaped metallic object descended from beyond the gray sky and crashed into the ground. The impact caused a blazing inferno in the center and surrounding area of a small crater, metal debris was scattered throughout a five hundred foot radius.

A scaly, clawed black hand gripped the grass at the undamaged mouth of the crater. A dark figure climbed out and shivered at the feeling of wet grass on their feet. Shadowy appendages wrapped around their naked body to keep them dry in the rain. The figure stumbled away from the crash sight into a nearby wooded area.

After an undetermined amount of time, their stomach growled in hunger. They looked around and discovered an apple tree close by. They went over to the tree and raised a hand, several apples fell to the ground and were quickly picked up. After one apple was hastily devoured, the figure continued to trek forward.

Rain continued to fall from the sky like tears dripping down a person's face. Strong winds began to shake the plant life and their long hair.

They made their way to the top of a hill that overlooked a valley. Not too far away in the valley were bright lights, indicating a city. With nothing to lose, they continued on in the direction of the lights.

After many hours of walking, they could see the city coming into view. They walked atop the ravine that ran along a road that led to and away from the city.

Less than a mile from their destination, they stumbled upon a small bush with little fruits growing on it. These were nothing like they had ever seen before, the seeds were outside of the fruit instead of on the inside. They plucked one and ate it, finding it delicious they took some from the bush before continuing to the city.

The walk was a little longer than expected, but they eventually made it there. To say they were disappointed by what they saw once there was an understatement. Many of the buildings were damaged so severely that they were just barely hanging on by a thread. The streets were no better; they were ridden with rats, discarded food, undegradable garbage, disgusting insects, and filthy clothing that they were almost tempted to pick up and put on to keep warm with, but kept walking instead, careful not to step on anything. Everything was so gritty that the only way they could see anything was due to the streetlights.

The streetlights illuminated their face and body as if the light had caused the darkness to melt away. The figure was a young female with fair skin. Her legs and feet were covered with several layers of mud and vegetation. Her hair was wiry and wet, the color was difficult to determine but it appeared to be a shade of light blond. Her eyes were a beautiful blue that would make the sky and oceans envious. Along with the blue were gorgeous hints of silver.

Wrapped around her body were wings very similar in shape to that of a Necrofriggian. Her wings were covered with ivory feathers of various sizes ranging from the size of an eagle to that of a newborn chick along with small, thin strands of gold here and there.

Grotesque, black, scaly skin crawled up her arms and gave them the appearance of a rotting corpse. Few feathers on her wings were beginning to lose their fluff and getting replaced with skin similar to what plagued her arms.

She walked past a group of men in their early twenties. They were standing in front of a small store and they were smoking cigarettes; there were three men in total. All three stared at her up and down as she walked by and continued as she continued forward. They followed and caught up with her.

One of them wolf-whistled, "Check her out, boys."

"Yeah, looks like we got ourselves a hot chick," another said.

"Are you lost? Did your car break down or somethin'?" the last man asked in a fake concerned voice.

She said nothing and continued forward, not even looking at them as if unaware they were there. They continued to walk along with her.

They continued to pester her to no end and it was really starting to piss her off. The men, of course, didn't know that what was wrapped around her were wings, not clothes, so when one of them reached to get her attention, he accidentally plucked one of her feathers. She flinched in pain and stopped in her tracks, glaring daggers at them. That was it, they were going to pay the price.

Her eyes glowed with hatred and the blue was soon replaced with blood red. Then all of a sudden, like a wave crashing down on them, they all fell to the wet concrete. Their eyes were bloodshot, they were nauseated, and their heads were spinning.

She shivered again and decided to take this opportunity to fix the problem. She took a leather jacket, a pair of worn out jeans, and a white scarf made of a thin material. She removed her wings from her body for a minute and wrapped them back around her when she put them on.

She then walked away as if everything that had just happened was nothing more than the dirt on her feet. The three men groaned in sickness on the ground as the rain poured down on them.

"Maybe you should think twice before you obtrude," she browbeaten in a raspy and slightly monstrous yet still feminine voice.

The glow in her eyes died down and they turned back to blue. She bit into another of the small fruits and took a bite out of another apple.

She continued to walk until she came across a place with a large sign in front. The sign was of a grinning cup holding a smaller grinning cup along with the words 'Mr. Smoothie.' She had no idea what a 'Mr. Smoothie' was, but decided to go inside the building to keep dry. Since there were lights on, she assumed someone was inside.

The sound of the door opening and closing shot the cashier awake. He opened and closed his eyes a few times and yawned.

"Welcome to Mr. Smoothie, what can I get ya?" he said sleepily.

She said nothing and placed her half-eaten apple on the counter along with the berries. He looked at them confused at first, but then understood what it meant and prepared her a drink made out of the fruits.

He presented her with a cup similar to the sign outside. She looked at it confused and wondered what to do with it.

He looked at her oddly, "Aren't you going to drink it?" She looked at him in a similar way. He tapped on the lid, "Drink it."

She took the cup and drank the fruity liquid through the red tube. It was a little tart to her, but good nonetheless.

"So, you gonna pay or what?" he asked, now bored out of his mind.

She took out some paper currency left in the pockets of the jacket and jeans. She took her fruity drink and left. She could have stayed - and it was her original plan - but she didn't feel comfortable sitting in a deserted restaurant.

* * *

Outside of town, Ben and his team were checking out the sight of the crash they got a report of on their badges. Gwen had a dome of mana protecting them from the rain and all three wore raincoats to keep dry.

Ben groaned and shook off some mud on his shoes, "How's it going, Kevin?"

He mumbled angrily under his breath before yelling, "Quit asking already, will ya?! I'm working as fast as I can!"

She played the part of pacifist, "Guys, quit it. Let's just finish up and get out of the rain."

"Alright," Ben complied before things could get out of hand. "Do you know what kind of technology it is?"

"I'm not exactly sure where it's from, I've never seen anything like it. All I can say is that it's level four tech," he replied.

She placed a hand on the craft and used her powers, "There was only one person on board and they survived. They took off in the direction of Bellwood."

"If they're able to survive something like this, then they could be dangerous," Ben attested.

"This didn't happen very long ago, they couldn't have gotten far," Kevin avered, wiping his hands with a rag.

They climbed out of the crater and went over to Kevin's car. Just as they were about to get inside, strong winds that were not due to the choppy weather shook the trees. They turned around and watched as a ship different from the one that crashed landed near the crater.

The three went offensive when the hatch opened, but relaxed when they saw a familiar alien walk out. It was a Highbreed... with a green arm.

"Reiny!" Ben grinned and ran up to him. "What brings you here? Another Highbreed failsafe?"

"I assure you, Ben-Ben Tennyson, I have checked the records thoroughly. There are no more failsafes on Earth," he reassured. "But that is not why I am here."

"Then, why are you here? A rogue Highbreed?" Kevin asked.

"No. I am here because of that," he pointed down at the downed craft.

* * *

Bellwood - Ben's House

It was now seven in the morning and the rain had finally stopped, although it was still cloudy and dark outside. Kevin and Gwen sat in the living room, watching over Reinrassig, who sat on the sofa, while Ben was out.

The entire wait for his return was full of an awkward silence as they looked at him with questionable expressions. When he finally came back, he walked in carrying four cups and set them on the coffee table before he sat down next to the Highbreed.

He picked up one and took a long slurp out of it before addressing his friend, "Alright, Reiny, why don't you start from the beginning?"

"The craft you found was used to transport a…" he paused for a second, "very important person."

"Important to who? To the Highbreed? Another alien race? ...To You?" Gwen inquired.

He was silent for a long time before he finally muttered, "Yes."

"To what?" Ben asked, taking another drink from his cup.

"May we change the topic?" he asked awkwardly.

"Okay then, how did you hear about the crash? And who was inside?" she asked.

He went quiet again, then, almost as a confession, he told them the full story; omitting certain details, of course. "I was able to trace it through a feature that sends out a distress signal, should it break down or crash. I received the distress signal and immediately came here. When I saw there was no one inside, it gave me... hope."

The entire time he was explaining to them, Gwen noticed that he kept caressing the third finger on his left hand. She didn't see anything there and couldn't sense any feeling of discomfort in that finger. She did, however, sense his heart rate increasing as he spoke, possibly indicating either sadness, anger, or guilt. Though, she highly doubted that it was any those emotions that plagued him.

"What I still can't figure out is what type of technology that craft is?" Kevin inquired. "I've never seen anything like it."

"It is from the planet Malak, the inhabitants are called the Seraph. Until ten thousand years ago, they were a lively race, they have since become dour and isolated," he explained.

"What could have happened ten thousand years ago that caused them to change so drastically?" she questioned.

"Ten thousand years ago on Earth there was an event which most humans are familiar with today as the Great Flood," he elucidated.

"Wasn't that caused because there were a bunch of giants on Earth and they were viewed as a threat to mankind?" Ben asked with a raised eyebrow.

Gwen looked at her cousin in surprise, "Wow, never took you to be religious."

He shrugged, "I saw it on TV the other night."

"But, wait, I thought those giants were the product of angels mating with humans?" she questioned.

"What you call 'Angels' are actually the Seraph," he informed. "And you are correct about the giants, they were the result of breeding between the two races, to this day, no one knows how or why. The Great Flood was created in response to a defiance. A select number of Seraphs were sent to Earth to educate humanity. When they started mating with the ones they were teaching, they were forced to remain on Earth as punishment. In retaliation, these exiled ones allowed their negative emotions to consume them and turn them into their malevolent counterparts."

"Demons," Gwen's eyes were wide and her mouth slightly open in shock.

"Correct," he responded. "Once word spread of this, the High Lord of the time ordered the flood to put an end to their rampage. Afterwards, he ordered his people to never reproduce with anyone other than other Seraphs. This caused many to develop an intolerance to certain diseases and more than half of their people are sterile."

"This is all really interesting, but what does this have to do with you?" Kevin questioned bluntly.

"Once word spread across the galaxy of my species' DNA being contam- altered to save our lives, other species who followed the same practice of inbreeding decided it was time for a change," he explained. "The Seraph had been one of those to consider this, but decided they wanted proof that they no longer needed to be fearful of cross-breeding. It was ultimately decided that I be the one to take one as my mate for the sake of our respective races."

The three of them couldn't believe what they were hearing, Reinrassig III, the Highbreed Supreme, was engaged to be married to a member of a race that had a similar breeding policy to his own. It was both astounding and terrifying.

X~V~X-**O**-**O**-**O**-X~V~X

**(A/N: So, what do you guys think so far? I know it may not be very interesting so far, but I promise it will get better, so please stick around to read more if you want more.**

**I put a lot of Biblical references in this chapter, some pretty obvious, others not. I hope I did a good job at the accuracy of the stories. Please (politely) point out some inconsistencies if you see them.**


	2. Chapter 2

**(A/N: Not really much to say except I hope you guys like this chapter as much as you enjoyed the last one. This chapter will probably be longer than the first one, maybe not by much, but who knows. I'm known to go a little overboard when it comes to writing chapters.)**

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Their Highbreed friend picked up the cup Ben had placed in front of him and took a drink out of it using the tentacles in his torso, much to the disgust of Gwen and Kevin. "Hydrating. What is it?" he asked.

"A smoothie," Ben answered, "a drink made of blended fruits and vegetables. Don't worry, I made sure to get you an extra smooth one."

Kevin gagged at the sight, "Ugh, sick. Is that really how you guys eat?"

"Just liquid," he replied with a slight shrug.

"Anyway, what about your engagement to the Seraph?" Gwen asked.

"Yeah, do you even know who you're marrying?" her boyfriend asked playfully.

"Or is it," Ben spun his cup around, trying to think of the right word, "like, an arranged thing? Like, you don't know who they are?"

"I know her well, quite well in fact," he replied.

"Yeah, yeah, you can tell us all about her, while I watch TV," Kevin interjected rudely, picking up the remote and turning on the TV.

"Don't mind him, what's her name?" she asked.

"Agape," his voice was low and it almost sounded something like a growl, but it was more like an affectionate sigh.

"How did you meet?" she asked again. She bore a bright smile on her face that reminded him so dearly of his betrothed.

_In the vacuum of space, in a cruiser several light years away from the Highbreed home planet of Augstaka was a family of noble Highbreed. The family consisted of a single parent and seven shorter Highbreed that were most definitely their children. _

_The parent was quite tall, well into the ten to fifteen foot range, the average height for their race, and muscular, indicative of a warrior, but was also a little round in the torso. The tallest of the children was nearly the height of his parent's shoulder, though he was nowhere near as muscular. The shortest of the children only went to the knees of the tallest and was quite lanky with disproportionate limbs yet he was somehow able to stand quite easily._

_The cruiser landed and the parent walked out first, followed by their children. They landed on some kind of platform that was connected to a cluster of buildings ranging in size with the tallest at the center._

_The planet they landed on looked like a perfect combination of depression and beatitude. The skies were gray with clouds ready to sob at any moment and a glance below the platform at the city below revealed a tightly knit area of filth and darkness. On the other hand, the grass was a lush green with rolling hills that went on for miles and the cluster buildings were clean and in excellent shape, despite looking quite old. The air was quite cool, this was good because they overheat easily otherwise._

_As mandatory for whenever they went to another planet, the parent briefed their children, "My sons, remember this, these people are scum, mongrels, hideous abominations of nature, in spite of their charms. We are Highbreed, the one true species, the only kind, they are nothing." _

_They were greeted by a Seraph male wearing red and blue robes with numerous pieces of jewelry to show his high status. Around his neck was a winged cross with a circle at the center. It appeared to be made of marble and it was connected to his neck by a silver chain that was so sleek and shiny that it almost looked new._

_Behind him were warriors all wearing identical armor and carrying swords, no doubt ready to strike at any given moment. They all had wings, some varied in size, but they were all the same shape, they intrigued the youngest child since he was so young and had never been off Augstaka before, unlike his brothers who had been off-planet many times._

_"Welcome to Malak, I am Ambassador Gabriel. I trust you will be comfortable," he greeted politely, his face was straight and it was clear that he didn't want them there._

_"Cut the formalities, mongrel," the parent spat harshly. "I am here to educate my sons on the affairs of state, not to acquaint myself with you, vermin."_

_"Fine," he replied flatly, turning around. His guards separated to the sides to allow him to pass through. He walked towards the cluster of buildings, followed by the family of Highbreed._

_He led them down extravagant yet sparsely decorated halls that were predominately bedecked with portraits of important figures and events. One of these events being a representation of the infamous Great Flood, which many, especially Highbreed, consider to be a failure because it only destroyed the fallen ones and their offspring, not the primitive abominations known as humans._

_The youngest was quite amazed by the new sights he was taking in, this was the first time he had ever seen anything remotely lively. Augstaka was a very gloomy, gritty, polluted planet with run down, destroyed buildings everywhere; a truly depressing place to live. While he was caught up in taking in all the new sights, he failed to notice his family leave him behind._

_When he finally realized they were gone, he frantically looked around for them, but had no idea where they could have gone. In his panic he ran down a dark hallway that was not meant for visitors to venture down._

_He wasn't watching where he was going and fell to the floor after accidentally running into a table and knocking it over. On top of it was an egg-shaped stone statue with intricate carvings incised into it. The statue fell to the carpeted floor with a muffled 'thump!' and broke in half._

_"Oh, dear, father will be upset," a young girl's voice spoke._

_He stood up from the floor and spread his small wings, exposing the orange membrane, "W-Who is there?"_

_A young girl with platinum blond hair and beautiful blue eyes walked out the shadows. She was around the same height he was and wore robes similar to the ones worn by Ambassador Gabriel. Her wings were similar to his as well, but much smaller and had thin golden strands on some of the feathers. _

_She also had a necklace similar to his as well, although her pendant was made of a smooth, shiny metal, possibly silver, not marble. It was held around her neck by wooden beads instead of a silver chain._

_He backed away timidly, "S-Stay away from me, insect!"_

_"Who are you? What are you doing here?" she asked._

_"I will ask the questions, you will answer me," he declared._

_"But this isn't your home, it's mine," she tilted her head to side, obviously not understanding his claims._

_He didn't have the slightest idea on how to argue against that. His parent had never taught him how to argue against such things and she had a valid case that was quite difficult to argue._

_"Who are you?" she asked again._

_"I am Reinrassig III, seventh son of the Noble Highbreed House of Deralla, direct descendant of the Pure Blooded High Order of Rarsect," he proclaimed proudly._

_She looked at him oddly and doubtfully with a hand on her hip, it gave her a high air of maturity, something he was very familiar with having six elder brothers, "My name is Agape. The daughter of Ambassador Gabriel and niece of the High Lord of Malak."_

_If this was a competition of who had the higher status, she would have been the winner. She knew of her father's position as ambassador and had a family relation to the ruler of her home world. He was not related to the Highbreed Supreme nor anyone on the High Council, he knew he was the son of a noble, but had no idea if his ancestors - or parent for that matter - had any blood relation to any member of the High Council._

_There was a long pause before she finally asked, "What are you doing here?"_

_"I am here on an educational visit," he paused, most likely out of embarrassment, before he continued, "and I got lost."_

_"Father would be upset with me if I walk into his office without permission," she uttered, mostly to herself. She then perked up when an idea formed in her head, "Follow me."_

_"What? Why would I want to follow someone I'd just met?" he questioned with clear hostility._

_She didn't answer and walked back into the shadows she came out of. Curiosity told him to follow, but the teachings of his parent and elder siblings told him not to trust anyone other than fellow Highbreed. Against his better judgement, he followed her into the darkness._

_If he didn't know any better, he would have thought he had just walked into a cave and was experiencing absolute darkness. It was like this for a little while until he saw the light at the end of the tunnel. It was actually just her opening a window at the end of the hallway._

_The window was facing the series of platforms that was connected to the buildings, but he could not see the cruiser he and his family arrived on. From this viewpoint, the planet looked less gloomy and more lively._

_"How good are you at flying?" she asked suddenly._

_"I fly quite well for my age," he replied._

_She cracked a smile that showed a boldness and a need for thrills, "Good."_

_She climbed out the window and stood on the sill, her back was up against the glass of the window to keep her balance. Then, she did something unexpected, she jumped off the sill!_

_Worriness overwhelmed him and quickly went over and looked out. He was surprised to see that she was fine, she was just soaring around in circles a hundred or so feet below._

_He sighed and climbed out himself, standing on the sill the same way she did. From the inside, it didn't look so stomach-turning, but now that he was outside, he was immediately regretting following her._

_She soared up when she realized that he was taking a long time, her wings fluttered slightly. "You're not afraid, are you?"_

_"No!" he spat._

_"Then jump," she hovered there expectantly with her arms crossed._

_He took in a deep breath and exhaled sharply. He lifted one foot and soon he was falling. He tried to fly as she did but couldn't! Something was wrong. Terribly wrong. And it needed to be solved quickly._

_She saw him struggling and quickly flew down to help him. He could see that he was nearing the city below and knew that he had to figure this out quickly._

_Finally, as a last ditch effort, he extended his wings out to their full extent. It worked, he flew upwards and flew past her. She blinked in surprise, but shook it off and joined him._

_"You did it!" she sounded quite elated._

_"Was there ever any doubt?" he asked smugly, his arms crossed._

_"You almost gave me a heart attack!" she claimed, now beginning to sound angry. "I thought you were going to fall to your death!"_

_"But I didn't, did I?" he still sounded smug and prideful._

_She groaned in frustration and flew down and soared around the buildings. He soared after her to know where she was going, after all, this was all her idea._

_He circled around the circumference of many buildings, but she kept evading him. They continued to gracefully glide across the air surrounding the buildings. The chase finally stopped when she flew to the top of her home and waited patiently for him._

_He finally made it up there and was clearly out of breath. "I finally caught up to you!" he uttered in between deep breaths. "You cannot escape me, insect! I will always catch up."_

_"I wasn't trying to escape you," she replied in a childish and epigrammatic manner. "I was simply attempting to inspirit you."_

_"Inspirit me? Why?" he demanded. _

_He took her remark to be an insult, rather than what it really meant. It was quite amusing to her because she had only seen someone so serious in the adults of her immediate family, never in someone who appeared to be her own age._

_"You're just a little too serious," replied playfully with a smile that mirrored her tone of voice._

_She flew up into the gloomy sky with the smile still plastered on her face. He stretched out his wings to full length again and went after her. _

_To say he was getting tired of her games was an understatement, he was furious at the thought of her toying with him, a Highbreed, for the fun of it. Though, perhaps she had a point, he was a little too serious for his young age, but then again, what could be expected from the child of a noble?_

_She eventually stopped in mid-air and he caught up to her again. He idly noted that they were now hovering in the gray clouds. They were very high up in the sky now._

_Her facial expression changed from a playful smile to a bright grin like he had never seen. It had such an impact on him that he was certain it would be something that would remember for a long time._

_She closed her eyes and inhaled and exhaled calmly. Suddenly, her wings started to glow faintly and it intensified as she focused her concentration on her wings. Soon, the soft, faint glow shined as bright as the sun, almost blinding him. The shine illuminated her fair skin like porcelain and her hair glowed as if it were threads of sun itself._

_The light did much more than give her skin and hair a glow, it shined over the gray clouds and made the dreary sky bright with exuberance. It was absolutely breathtaking._

_She eventually lost her concentration and the glow slowly died out. She opened her beautiful eyes and placed a hand on her now-pounding head. She apparently had no idea just how far up they were because when she looked down, her heart stopped._

_She started to panic and was hyperventilating so severely that she was starting to become light-headed. Her wings fluttered uncontrollably which caused her to lose her aerial balance and fall out of the sky._

_He watched as this was happening, he could the fear in her eyes when she lost her concentration. She attempted to grab onto one of his long legs as she fell, but failed and he made no attempt to stop her from grabbing onto him nor stop her from falling to her death._

_He debated on whether or not to save her from a certain death. On one hand, allowing her fall would make his family proud because it would be, in their words, 'one last vermin in an otherwise grateful universe.' On the other hand, she risked her life when he was struggling to fly earlier, she could have let him fall, but she chose to help him instead._

_'She must be scared,' he thought. Of course she was scared, she would have to be insane not to be. He remembered how scared he was when he was falling too._

_He could just let her continue her fall and say it was an accident. It wouldn't be considered murder and he was a mere child. How could he be considered a murderer? _

_Or he could save her out of interest. She was quite intriguing and he did feel like he was finally enjoying his short childhood for the first and possibly only time. Surely saving one life wouldn't ruin his chances of becoming a part of those who would expunge all life in the future, would it?_

_He made his decision and prayed it wouldn't be something he would regret. He flew down as fast he could after her._

_Unfortunately, she was falling faster than he was descending. He remembered how he was able to fly after her earlier and decided to do the same thing, just a little differently._

_He retracted his wings slightly and dove down in a position similar to a nosedive. It allowed him to fly down faster and get to her quicker. He retracted them a little more, which allowed him to be parallel to her. He tried to grab her, but the pressure due to the descension wouldn't allow it._

_Then, he got an idea, it was risky, but it was better than nothing at all. He retracted his wings completely to allow himself to fall faster than her. Once he passed her, he extended them out as much as he could, then he soared up and grabbed her in his long arms._

_She looked up at him with a thankful and slightly surprised look on her face, "You saved me?"_

_"It was in my own interest to save you," he responded._

_"I think I can fly on my own now," she told him._

_She pulled away from him and flew back towards the buildings, he followed closely behind. She went back to the open window and climbed back inside. She helped him get back inside and closed the window._

_"Agape!/Reinrassig III!" two voices shouted in unison. Two very familiar_ _voices._

_They saw their respective families rushing down the hallway. And they looked beyond furious._

_"Where have you been, young lady?!" her father questioned harshly and loudly._

_"She was obviously infecting my son!" his parent spat._

_"No! I was just trying to teach him to be less serious!" she insisted._

_"I know you mean well, but you can't change how a person is," her father told her, kneeling down so that he was eye-level with his daughter._

_"I- I enjoyed the experience," Reinrassig timidly uttered._

_"Reinrassig, come here!" his parent demanded._

_He did as he was told and was immediately lifted into their arms. They sent a glare to her father and walked away with their six elder sons walking upfront._

_"You are to be thoroughly disinfected the second we return to Augstaka," they stated._

_Ambassador Gabriel picked up his daughter and carried her down an adjacent hallway, "Your mother will be displeased to hear of this."_

_As their parents carried them away, the two watched helplessly as they drifted further apart from each other. They looked over their parent's shoulders and reached a small hand out as they lost sight of one another._

"Woah," Gwen gasped when the story was finished.

"I guess this means I wasn't the first person to get through to you, huh?" Ben remarked.

"You were the first to show me the error of the Highbreed way," he replied.

"If storytime is over," Kevin started, "there's something you need to see."

The three of them looked at the TV to see what he was talking about. The channel it was on was one of the news channels, the "Harangue Nation" was on.

It showed blurry footage of three men surrounding a woman. Small red lights appeared in the footage and the three men suddenly collapse to the ground.

"That's right, America, if one menace in this world wasn't bad enough, it looks like we have two," Harangue said.

Ben immediately looked over at his friend, "Reiny, is that-?"

"Yes," he answered, his voice low and steely sounding yet also relieved and hopeful.

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**(A/N: 3,000 words ain't bad. Sure, I could've done a little more, but I'm happy with what I've done.**

**I hope you guys enjoyed the flashback sequence in this chapter and the switch in writing style. For the flashback part, I really wanted it to give people the feeling that it was from the point of view of a Highbreed. And I think I achieved that effect, but let me know what you guys think.**

**The next chapter of "Against All Odds" is in the works and should be done within the next week or two. So keep your eyes peeled and stay tuned!)**


	3. Chapter 3

**(A/N: I hope the very few of you who read this story are excited for this chapter. I obviously can't tell you anything right here, but I will say that it may be a little unexpected.**

**Warning: innuendo at some point and a couple possible triggers. It shouldn't be anything to worry about though. Apologise ahead of time if something upsets or inadvertently insults someone because I know there are probably going to be a couple of instances where that could happen.**

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"I don't understand, she would never hurt anybody," Reinrassig uttered, shocked.

"Sure doesn't seem like it," Kevin remarked flatly.

"I don't know, from the video feed it looked more like she was defending herself if anything," she commented.

He shot up from the sofa, "We must find her!"

Ben grabbed his arm and tried to calm him down, "Whoa, whoa, chill out, Reiny. I'm sure she's fine and she looks more than capable of taking care of herself."

"No, you don't understand! If we are unable to locate her, then her uncle will declare war on my planet!" he proclaimed.

"Okay, uh, on a scale of one to ten, how bad would that be?" he asked nervously.

"You want the honest answer? Fifty-three," Kevin told him in a flat tone.

"And since she vanished on your planet, they will declare war here as well," he affirmed.

"How long do we have to find her?" she asked.

"Approximately twelve hours," he answered. "After that she will be presumed deceased until she is found."

"So, where should we start?" Ben asked.

"We should probably start where the video feed was recorded," she suggested. "Maybe we'll be able to find some clues as to where she went."

"There is no time to be wasted, we must go now!" he stated.

They weren't sure if that was a good idea. Much of the public and media already think of them as a threat to public safety and having a giant alien with them while they investigate would probably cause more of that bias and spread a lot of rumors.

"Uh, Reiny, I'm not sure if that's such a good idea," Ben told his friend nervously.

"Why not?" he questioned.

"If the press sees us runnin' around with a huge alien, they might get suspicious," Kevin pointed out.

He looked at his reflection in a glass coffee table near the door, "Perhaps you have a point. I will need an ID mask."

"Here," Kevin handed him his old one, "you can use mine."

He places it on his face and turns into a human male with dark hair and a fedora. "Will it be safe for me to walk amongst the humans in this disguise?"

"Ditch the fedora and you're golden," he gave him a thumbs up.

* * *

They went to the exact area in the video, to no one's surprise the area was full of people since the downtown area wasn't too far up the street. Civilians immediately recognized Ben and wanted autographs and pictures and other things, which he was happy to comply with, much to the annoyance of Gwen and Kevin and the confusion of Reinrassig.

"Is this how it always is around here?" he asked.

"Unfortunately, yes," the Osmosian sighed.

"He puts the 'dumb' in 'stardom'," she uttered.

After what seemed like the fiftieth person, he finally snapped, "Ben-Ben Tennyson! There are more pressing matters at hand!"

He looked back at his friends, who looked annoyed and disappointed, with a nervous expression. "Sorry, everyone, official hero business, nothing to see here," he told his fans, who walked away in disappointment.

With that taken care of, they focused on the matter at hand. They surveyed the area, looking for something, anything that could lead them to his missing betrothed. All they found was trash and wet clothing that appeared to have been there since the night before.

Then, Ben spotted something behind a trash can, an ivory feather with golden strands. He picked it up and looked at it. It was roughly identical in size to the tail feathers of an eagle.

"Hey, guys, check this out!" he called out to them.

"What is it?" his cousin asked.

"I found a feather," he held up the said object.

She looked at it, "There's gold on it. It's beautiful."

Reinrassig took the feather from him and examined it. He was silent and was unusually interested in it.

"How's a fancy feather gonna help us?" Kevin asked impatiently.

He took a while before he finally responded, "You don't find feathers like this on any animal on Earth. It can only come from a Seraph."

"If this is her feather, we're pretty much done," Gwen concentrated on the small item and was able to get something. "She's in the city. She's within about a three mile radius of here, but it's difficult to tell where exactly."

He tore the mask off his face, revealing his normal body. He spread out his wings and quickly took flight.

"Reiny, come back! Reiny!" Ben called after him.

He activated the Ultimatrix and searched through it for an aerial alien. He found the one he was looking for and slammed his palm on the face. He transformed into a familiar red and yellow alien.

"Jetray!" he shouted and took off after his friend.

"Ben!" his cousin shouted after him as he flew away.

"We'll follow them in my car," Kevin told her, walking towards his car. She nodded and followed.

They followed him to an area of the city infamous for being home to abandoned buildings and shady activity over the years. They spotted Jetray in the street looking around the perimeter, he almost looked lost. Reinrassig was nowhere in sight and neither was his missing betrothed.

They pulled up next to him and Kevin rolled the window down, "Where's your friend?"

"I don't know. I lost sight of him somewhere along the way," he replied.

Gwen scanned him for any trace of Reinrassig's mana on his body. "I'm getting something. He's close and so is she."

"Get in," he told him. He changed back into Ben and did just that.

She guided them to a deserted area near the docks. They got out and looked around for them, hopefully it wouldn't take very long. If what he said earlier was true, time was of the essence.

"Are you sure they're here?" Kevin asked.

"I'm positive, but I'm not sure where they could be," she responded.

"I know someone who can help!" Ben grinned and activated the Ultimatrix again.

He transformed into a familiar orange, canine-like alien without eyes. He howled and started to sniff the ground, trying to pick up a scent. He got a hit on his scent and started barking before he stormed off. Gwen and Kevin followed using her mana to follow from above.

They followed Wildmutt for a while before they spotted Reinrassig approaching a black and white object. They were so high up it was difficult to make out what it was, they noticed the alien canine running in that direction and went down there. Things were about to get very interesting.

"Ben!" Gwen called to him as they neared the ground and as he approached his friend and the mysterious object.

Now that they were closer, they could see that it was actually a sphere of feathers. Feathers that looked very similar to the one they found earlier to be specific. Although, there was something very odd about them. Some of the feathers weren't even feathers anymore, they appeared to have shed all of their barbs and afterfeather and replaced them with dark, scaly skin, which were then fused together. The outlines of them could be faintly seen.

More than seventy-five percent of them were completely turned to skin. The remaining feathers were wilted and discolored a dingy yellow, they looked ready to shed or fall off at any moment.

Wildmutt turned back into Ben and he asked, "What is that thing?"

"Not a 'what' or a 'thing'," his friend nearly spat. The sphere came apart and a figure at the center stood before them. The figure was a beautiful girl in a motorcycle getup, the borders of something dark could be seen on the sides of her neck. "She."

He looked at the clothing she wore with distaste, humans wore such unsavory garments, he didn't even want to know how she acquired them. He saw the scaly skin on her claw-like hands and his eyes widened; this was not good.

He grabbed her hands and examined them, much to the surprise and wonder of her and the people that stood behind him. It was almost heartbreaking to see how similar they were to his own; his natural, 'pure' hand.

He noticed the same thing slowly, but surely, crawling up her neck. Using the eyes on his chest, he was able to peer down her clothing, but was unable to tell if it had spread to her chest or below, the clothing was too dark and the shadows made it difficult to tell.

He needed to get a better look and there was only one way to do it. Hopefully this would not tarnish their engagement nor guarantee an inevitable conflict between their worlds.

He placed his hand on her chest where the zipper was. The boys noticed this and Ben cheekily remarked, "Woah, Reiny, control yourself."

"Yeah, save it for the honeymoon," Kevin smirked.

He ignored them, although he mentally shook his head in disappointment at their immaturity. All things aside, it was time to get to the bottom of the matter. In a swift move, he brazenly tore the jacket wide open to expose her bare torso.

Gwen instinctively covered her friends' eyes and her now bare chest with thick bands of mana. She then restrained him and pushed him up against the wall of a building.

"You better start explaining yourself," she threatened warningly.

"I simply wished to examine the dark skin," he explained, shameful of himself.

"Okay, but there are other ways you could do that," she had her hands on her hips.

"Will you let me down?" he asked.

She sighed, "Fine," and released him from his restraints.

Now that he was free, he could examine her to see the extent of the dark skin. He could see that it covered her entire torso, he did not need to peer under the mana nor ask her to turn around to know this.

"Let me see your feet," he told her.

She was understandably confused by this request, but did so anyway. Since she's much shorter than him, to do this she would need to hover off the ground by fluttering her wings and making herself eye-level with him.

He could see that her feet were as scaly and pitch black as the majority of her body. Her toes were sharp and pointed, they resembled talons.

"Gwen," her cousin whined, "how much longer do our eyes have to be covered?"

"Yeah, I'm getting tired of seeing this nasty-ass pink," her boyfriend groaned in agreement.

"Excuse me?" she questioned warningly. "What's wrong with pink?"

"N-Nothing," he responded nervously.

"Are you done with your... inspection?" she asked.

"Oh, yes, I am finished," he answered.

She released her concentration of the mana bands over their eyes and her chest. Once she did, Agape felt the need to remove the scarf she took and wrap it around her chest. She looked at the zipper of the jacket and saw that it was destroyed. Sometimes she wondered if Reinrassig knew his own strength.

"Agape, please come back with me," he beckoned her, placing a hand on her shoulder. "We will find a way to fix this."

"No, you can't," she spoke after what seemed to be a prolonged silence. "There is nothing you can do."

"Please, let us help you," Gwen implored.

"Maybe if we take her back to her home planet," Kevin suggested, "maybe someone there can-"

She interjected by suddenly shouting, "No! I cannot go back! They will execute me for _peccavisti_!"

She stretched out her wings and flew up. From that viewpoint, her wings strongly resembled the wings of a dragon.

"Agape!" Reinrassig shouted after her. He extended his wings and soared after her.

"Ben!" Gwen cried to her cousin.

He was already on the case, "I'm on it, Gwen." He hit the face on the Ultimatrix and transformed into Jetray again. "Jetray!" He flew up after them, while his friends went back to Kevin's car so that it would be easier to follow them.

"Reiny, wait up!" he called out to him.

He increased his speed and was able to catch up to him. They soared side-by-side as he tried to persuade him to stop flying after her.

"Reiny, stop. I promise we'll find a way to help her, but now is not the time!" he enjoined.

"No! You don't understand!" he asseverated. He fired claw darts at him, causing him to fall back on his pursuit.

It took all of his strength to increase his velocity and soar after her at breakneck speeds. Just as he was nearing her, she suddenly faced him and extended her hand out. Dizziness overtook him and caused him to fall out of the sky.

Jetray wasn't too far behind him when this happened and started to feel like his head was spinning too. He tried to shake it off as he dove down to save his friend from crashing into downtown Bellwood.

Gwen and Kevin saw this from his car and he hit the gas to make it to the downtown area before them. It was a long shot, but they managed to make it there before them. She used her powers to confront her before she could fly away.

"Be careful, Gwen!" he shouted from the ground.

She stood before her on her bed of mana, "Please, you have to stop this before someone gets hurt!"

She said nothing and instead raised her hand. Just as Jetray and Reinrassig, her head started spinning and she lost her concentration on her powers and fell out of the sky.

Kevin saw this and immediately rushed out of his car. "Gwen!"

He was able to catch her just in time, but the impact caused him to stumble and fall to his knees. He didn't care though, all that mattered to him was her safety.

Jetray, however, was unable to grab his friend before the symptoms completely took over his body. Reinrassig fell onto a car that was crushed upon impact, while his friend crashed into the street, creating a small decompression, and turned back into Ben.

People with cameras swarmed around them like bugs, the sound of a siren blaring could be heard in the distance and it only got closer. Reinrassig watched with blurry and constantly fading vision as she flew away before he lost consciousness.

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**(A/N: Well, this took a little longer than expected, but it's finally done! I gotta say, I'm proud of this one. It may not be my best, but it's a lot better than quite a few of my works.**

**Please (politely) correct me if I'm wrong, **_**peccavisti**_** is Latin for "you have sinned" or "corrupted". Again, please correct me if I got this wrong.**

**If you guys would like to know, her name is pronounced "ah-Gah-peh". "Agape" is a Greek word meaning "unconditional love." Again, correct me if I'm wrong.**

**Chapter six of "Against All Odds" is taking longer than expected, it's wearing me out. I'm also currently working on the sequel to "Ghostly Vengeance.")**


	4. Chapter 4

**(A/N: This chapter is when things are finally going to start to get intense. It most likely won't contain too many triggers (if any), but read cautiously just in case. That's all I have to say.)**

**O**-**O**-**O**~I~I~I~**O**-**O**-**O**

It was roughly six hours after the failed attempt to get Agape to go with Reinrassig off the planet and things were not going well for any of them. They sat at Ben's house in the living room, the TV was on, although they were paying much attention to it.

Will Harangue's show was on and currently on the screen was their short confrontation and what happened afterwards. And, unfortunately, he was able to get high quality shots of both Reinrassig and Agape.

While the videos of the men suddenly turning sick and the confrontation were being shown, Harangue was doing what he does best: haranguing, "That's right, America, it seems these unwelcome newcomers are more dangerous than we thought! Not only are they destructive, but also a thousand times stronger than Ben Menace and his friends! It's only a matter of time before we'll have to appease them by letting them enslave us!"

The screen then showed a picture of Reinrassig while he was unconscious. Next to it were pictures of several Highbreed from the war. Then a video showing Jetray trying to catch Reinrassig appeared on a small screen.

"If that wasn't bad enough, it looks like the malevolent faceless ones that were spotted last year are still here and Ben Tennyson is apparently in on the whole thing!" he shouted.

The screen was then replaced with a picture of Agape and the confrontation video returned. Along with them were also small pictures of the four of them after the police and paramedics arrived.

"Doctors say that the same illness that the three innocent men from the day before caught is the same one that Ben Tennyson and his friends caught, albeit the symptoms were milder and wore off in less than an hour," he said. "Oh, now that's just what we need! A living pathogenic war bomb just waiting to go off!"

All the pictures and videos were removed from the screen and were replaced with Harangue's face, as if that was any better than any 'threat' to the planet. Ben and his friends mentally prayed that meant it was about to go commercial, if there is a holy power up there, He didn't listen.

"Everything that's been happening lately has people asking 'Is this the end?' and I'm here to tell you no!" he slammed his hand on his desk. "We're going to fight back and we're not going to hold back until these alien threats leave and give us the freedom we deserve! Aliens don't belong here and should never-"

Reinrassig couldn't hold back his anger any longer and fired his claw darts at the television, shattering the screen and breaking it beyond repair. "Badgering filthy scum! You have no right to speak of my race or my betrothed in such a way!"

Ben immediately tried to calm him down, "Woah! Woah! Reiny, calm down, relax! I get why you're mad, but you have to chill out."

"Yeah, but I kinda agree with Reiny on this one," Kevin spoke. "If anyone talked about my girl that way, I'd pound 'em up the street and back."

"The First Amendment, remember?" Gwen pointed out. "The freedom of speech and the press." Reinrassig looked at her in what could only be possibly interpreted as confusion, so she explained it to him, "He can legally say whatever he wants and anyone who says otherwise becomes the bad guy."

"I often wonder how humans could ever survive with such restrictive laws," he commented with a scoff, resting his elbow on the arm of the sofa as the side of his face rested in his palm.

They weren't sure what he meant by that and frankly they don't want to know. Although, they suspected it had something to do with how the Highbreed were able to make the attempt to eradicate the entire universe.

Ben stood up from the couch and pulled out one of the darts impaled in the TV, "You could've just asked me to turn it off."

Kevin looked over his shoulder at the clock, "It's after eight o'clock. How long until the Seraphs invade the planet?"

"In your time, that would be two hundred hours," Reinrassig answered.

"Huh?" Ben asked, confused.

"Two o'clock in the morning," Kevin translated.

"At that time most of the world will be asleep," he groaned. Reinrassig was about to say something, but Gwen shook her head and he stopped.

"Could you contact her people and ask if we could get more time to find her?" she asked.

"I will try," he stood up and left the living room.

While he contacted her homeworld, the three of them decided to come up with a plan in case he's unable to convince them. The only challenge with coming up with a plan is sticking to it.

"So, when we find her-" Ben started before Kevin cut him off.

"If we find her," he corrected pointedly.

He huffed, "If we find her, the first thing we should do is to try to keep her as far away from any town or city as possible."

"I can use my mana to find her, but it might take awhile," she mentioned.

"And what's gonna happen if we do find her?" Kevin asked. "Are we just gonna wing it and get ourselves sick again? Or are we gonna come up with a real plan?"

"Whatever the plan is it will have to be carefully and strategically planned," Reinrassig spoke as he walked back into the room.

"So, what did they say?" she asked carefully.

"They will give us until six hundred hours to find her," he responded.

"What's six hundred hours?" Ben asked.

"They're giving us 'til sunrise," Kevin answered.

"If we cannot," he started, "it will mean the end of both of our planets."

"That's not going to happen," his friend declared determinedly, standing up.

* * *

It was now midnight, Ben's parents were asleep, while he and Reinrassig sat in the living room with duffle bags at their feet. Kevin and Gwen had gone home to spend time with their families hours earlier, after the four of them had finalized their plan.

After it was finalized, they put it into place. The fate of three worlds was at stake, they can't afford to mess this up.

Once Gwen and Kevin left, they got started on the plan by gathering together everything Reinrassig had in his ship and everything Max loaned them from the Rust Bucket. It would be up to them to do the same thing once arriving at their respective homes.

After over an hour, they had everything they needed for this mission. All they had to do was to wait for them to arrive and put everything into gear.

Now, while waiting, Ben had grown fatigued and was slumped in a chair, struggling to stay awake. Reinrassig was sitting on the sofa, a cup from the kitchen in hand as his tentacles consumed the water inside.

Ben was about to fall asleep when he got a text and shot awake. It was from Kevin and read, _"Hey, Tennyson, we're here. Get your stuff and let's get going."_

"Reiny," he spoke quietly, getting his attention. "It's time."

They picked up their bags and quietly left the house so as to not wake Ben's parents. Kevin and Gwen were in front of his house in his car. He and his friend put their bags in the trunk of Ben's car and he got inside. Reinrassig stepped aside as he pulled out of the driveway and they drove away together once he did. He spread his wings to follow them since he was far too large to fit inside of either car.

Gwen sat in the passenger seat of her boyfriend's car as she concentrated as hard as she could on the feather they found. She could definitely sense something from it, it wasn't a strong reading, but it wasn't weak either, she wasn't sure how to describe it other than to say it felt different for some reason. It was as if they were following two people inhabiting the same body and one of them was fading.

"Turn here," she told her boyfriend.

"Okay," he replied flatly, most likely to hide the fear that had been slowly building up these past few hours.

He turned onto a road that led to the forest near Bellwood. Ben and Reinrassig followed them down the dark road.

"Turn to the right up here," she told him.

He could see from the headlights on his car that it was a dirt road. 'Ah, man! That's gonna damage the paint job!'

He pressed a button, which enlarged the tires, making the car more suitable for off-road driving. He drove off the main road and onto the dirt one, creating a cloud of dust.

Ben saw this from his car and uttered to himself, "Looks like we're going off-road." He and his friend followed them down.

This road was even darker than the main one. It was as if they were finished with a late-night walk and went into a coal mine. Both of their cars were creating so much dust it was difficult for him to see the tail lights of Kevin's car.

'It's practically a sandstorm,' he thought.

His Highbreed friend wasn't doing much better flying overhead. He could hardly see a thing in this darkness and the forest was so dense that he wouldn't be able to make out the largest animals if they were running around.

They continued along the road for what seemed like hours, before Gwen finally got something and it was close. Very close.

They turned into a plain that was a perfect combination of barren and grassy. Although the only things lighting up the area were the headlights of the cars and moonlight, Reinrassig just couldn't help but to compare it to Malak. It was both desolate and lively.

They got out of the cars and looked around, but didn't see anything out of the ordinary. This was strange. Why would the mana trail lead them here if there's nothing there?

"There's nothing here. I don't understand. She should be right here," she stated, confused.

When he looked around a little, Ben saw the reason why she was led there. He found her clothes, completely shredded on the ground.

He picked them up and called out to his cousin, "Hey, Gwen!"

She looked over and he held up his findings. She hung her head in shame.

"Don't be so hard on yourself," Reinrassig reassured her. "She is here."

"Where?" Kevin asked, looking around. "I don't see her."

"No, but I bet Wildmutt can sniff her out," he grinned confidently.

He activated the Ultimatrix and enveloped in the green light after hitting the face. When it faded they saw that he wasn't Wildmutt, but a familiar black and blue moth-like alien.

"Big Chill? Never what I ask for. Never!" he grumbled.

"Great! How are we gonna find her with an oversized insect?!" Kevin groaned.

"I don't-" he stopped himself from shouting at him when he realized something. "Wait a minute. Big Chill is a lot like insects and some insects can see in the dark."

"Where are you going with this?" he asked.

"So, if Big Chill is basically a large insect, in theory I should be able to find her," he stated.

"Moths are nocturnal and have a heightened sense of smell," she uttered.

"In that case," he started, his wings and antenna wrapping around him, "let's give it a shot."

He elevated off the ground and flew around the area, looking around for anything unusual. Although he could see very well, he didn't see anything odd that would be a cause for alarm.

'Huh, I guess I'll have to sniff around after all,' he mused.

He inhaled deeply and was nearly overpowered by the strong scents. It was like a scented air freshener scented on steroids. It was all but an overpowering slap in the face.

'Note to self, never go Big Chill in a forest,' he thought, holding his head.

He inhaled again, this time not nearly as harshly, and this time picked up a scent that was not from the forest. It smelled metallic with hints of blood and rain water. Although it was not unique, it was certainly an unusual scent to pick up in a forest so far away from any cities and towns.

He unwrapped himself and spread his wings, he turned to his friends, "I think I picked up something. Follow me."

He flew off in the direction where the scent was coming from with his Highbreed friend flying closely behind. Gwen and Kevin followed on her mana platforms.

They didn't have to go very far when they found something, or someone. They saw someone with their hands on the trunk of a tree with some kind of energy surrounding it that was encircling their arms like snakes. The light of the energy started to fade and the tree started to shrivel up and lose its leaves. Its life-energy was being stolen.

As soon as they set foot on the forest floor, they suddenly whipped around and fired a powerful ray of fire at them; they narrowly dodged the attack. The person that fired at them was Agape and she looked like a completely different person than who they saw earlier.

Her skin was now completely covered in the scaly black skin, her wings were the same way and resembled the wings of a dragon, her hair was now jet black, and her eyes were demonic red. Her hands resembled claws and her feet looked like talons.

Although she wore no clothes, there was no exposed genitalia, although her hips and chest were quite pronounced. Her torso was identical to Big Chill's, although hers is red instead of blue.

On her shoulders and the sides of her neck were red markings identical to claw marks. The same markings were also on her thighs and hips.

"You shouldn't have found me," she growled, her voice now a high-pitched hiss-like sounding voice with a slight monstrous tone.

She shot another ray at them, setting fire to the vegetation around them. Big Chill took in a breath and exhaled his ice breath in an attempt to put out the flames. He was partially successful, but the flames continued to roar and spread along the forest floor.

"This calls for some extra firepower," he uttered. He hit the Ultimatrix and his blue coloration was replaced with red. "Ultimate Big Chill!"

He exhaled flames out of his mouth and the flames turned into ice. When the last of the fire was put out, he turned his attention to her.

"Your turn," he told her.

"Ben-Ben Tennyson! No!" Reinrassig shouted.

He shot claw darts at him, which he froze just in time. While he was distracted with him, she took the opportunity to shoot another ray at his back. The attack painfully surged through his body and caused him to fall to the ground.

"Ben!" Gwen shouted, she ran over to him and cupped his face. She turned him onto his side while she used her powers to heal him.

Kevin gritted his teeth and yelled, "Nobody messes with him, but me!"

He absorbed the bark of a tree and morphed his fist into a hammer. He charged her, but she calmly soared up and flew away.

"Yeah! You better fly away!" he tightly clenched his fist to the point of causing pain to his knuckles. He lost his armor and knelt down next to Big Chill, "How is he?"

"He should be fine," she replied, "but the attack was strong enough to cause minor damage to his wing."

His friend fell to his knees and hung his head in guilt and grief. He held his head in his hands, covering his eyes with his long fingers, too ashamed to look at him. Whatever happens next would be on him.

**O**-**O**-**O**~I~I~I~**O**-**O**-**O**

**(A/N: Whew! Finally done. This was a tough chapter, I am not gonna lie. But, surprisingly, I got it done early.**

**I personally thought I wouldn't be able to get past the first part because I just purely hate Will Harangue. He is one of my top 10 least favorite characters of all time. He is just an insult to my political views (I'll just leave it at that).**

**I updated "Unknown Life" just a couple of days ago, so you can check it out if you want. I can promise you that things will be getting intense with that story shortly.)**


	5. Chapter 5

**(A/N: Oh, man! This story is almost finished, just two more chapters at most and it'll be done. No joke, we're almost done. This will be the first multi-chapter story I've ever officially finished.**

**For those of you who are panicking because you love this story, don't. This isn't the end of Agape and Reinrassig, this is only the first of what's to come in the future.)**

**Y**-**X**-**Y**-O-**Y**-**X**-**Y**

Gwen finished healing the injury Ultimate Big Chill sustained from Agape's attack and has since changed back into Ben after briefly turning back into Big Chill. Agape has long since disappeared, much to the frustration of the team and the guilt and sadness of Reinrassig.

They went back to the cars and started digging through the duffle bags in the trunks to find something to locate her. Fortunately, pretty much everything they have will find her, no matter where she is in the world.

"Hey, Reiny, no offense to you or your taste in girls, but that crazy bitch almost killed Ben and she could be anywhere!" Kevin shouted suddenly.

"Kevin!" Gwen scolded harshly.

"No, he is right," he stopped her from going any further. "It's my undoing that this has happened. She could have very easily annihilated any one of us without disregard."

"Reiny, are you saying that we have to put her down?" Ben asked, surprised and in complete disbelief of what his friend was telling them.

"No!" he roared, causing them to jump. "I suggested no such thing!"

"Reiny, relax, I know you're worried about her and your people and hers, too," he assured, attempting to calm down his colossus friend.

Gwen then began to add, "But you have to understand that the whole world is stake-"

She was cut off by Reinrassig, "Three worlds are at stake! And perhaps more!"

"He does have a point," Kevin agreed, "if his homeworld or her homeworld or even ours is destroyed, it will cause a domino effect that could carry onto other planets."

"How much longer do we have before that can happen?" Ben questioned.

"What time is it?" his friend asked.

Gwen looked at her phone, "It's a quarter after one."

"We have just under five hours," he answered his question, almost monotonously.

Kevin finally found what he was looking for, "Luckily for us, this equipment only needs five seconds."

The equipment he was referring to was actually a tracking device. It was round, flat, and metallic, it almost resembled a holo-viewer, albeit it was slightly wider and bulkier.

A flat, dome-shaped holographic grid took shape from the device. On the grid was a moving blinking red dot travelling in the direction Agape took off in. It wasn't moving very fast, which could indicate that she wasn't flying at a fast pace, like she wanted them to follow her.

Reinrassig wasted no time in going after her and extended his wings to do just that. At the rate he was flying, he would likely catch up to her in a matter of minutes.

"Oh, man!" Ben groaned.

He looked through the Ultimatrix for a flyer or a runner. He found one and slammed his palm on his desired transformation. As soon as the green light cleared, he was transformed into a black and blue feline-like alien.

"Fasttrack!" he exclaimed and took off after his friend.

Kevin slammed his face with his palm, "Oh, man, not again!"

Gwen pulled on his wrist, "Come on!" She had already created a couple of mana steps for them to follow them on. He grabbed a duffle bag out of the trunk and they followed after them.

As they followed him from the air, Fasttrack followed from the ground and could see some things from that point of view that they couldn't. He could see that there were buildings up ahead, the lights were turned off, so they were impossible to see in the dark from above and nearly invisible in the darkest of the forest.

His green eyes widened, "Uh-oh, I have to get there before Reiny can catch up to her."

He began to increase his speed by using up his stored stamina in order to help himself pedal to the metal. He just hoped that he was fast enough to get there in time before there would be destruction.

Fortunately, there is some luck in this world and it was on his side. He was able to get there just in time, with only a minor issue. His momentum from when he attempted to stop on his heels caused him to skid past his intended location.

He finally stopped and rushed back to the buildings, uttering, "Dammit, I really need to practice with these new aliens more."

He made it back to the buildings and discovered they were actually a log cabin and what looked like a stable for livestock. They looked like they haven't been lived in for years, just based on the fact that the stable was empty and falling apart.

'Huh, so I guess I just wasted my energy for nothing,' he thought.

He looked up and saw that he had been able to catch up to her. He watched as she shot at him, but he easily dodged thanks to his military training. He could see the outline of Gwen's mana as she and Kevin neared them.

Agape could see Gwen and Kevin coming towards her and Reinrassig. Instead of firing at them, she decided to look down and could see Fasttrack on the forest floor. She suspected that he was there to warn any people that could be down there.

She smirked twistedly and taunted Gwen and Kevin just as they approached, "If you truly care about the innocent, then you will not let them burn!"

She fired downwards in the direction where Fasttrack stood. Gwen immediately changed direction with her mana steps and she and her boyfriend rushed down.

With that done, Agape was about to take her leave again, but she was stopped by her betrothed, "No, you're not going anywhere. Not until we talk."

She growled under her breath, "Fine."

"Tell me, what has caused this?" he inquired gently and delicately.

She was silent for what seemed like an eternity before she finally gave an answer, "I allowed myself to become this way because I am afraid."

"Are you afraid of me?" he questioned.

She clenched her jaw shut for a brief moment and let out a soft sigh, "No, in truth, I wanted you as much as you wanted me."

"I still want you," he avowed insistently and almost reassuringly.

She looked at him sadly and hopefully, before she suddenly gripped her head tightly with her clawed hands, "No! No! It's not true! No you don't!"

"Yes I do!" he declared persistently.

He tried to approach her, but she swatted him away and extended her hand out, but nothing happened. It's possible that nothing is happening because she loves him as much as he loves her or she's attempting to make him ill again. One thing that's quite ironic about Highbreeds would have to be their immune systems, once they get sick once, it's unlikely it will happen again. However, he was leaning towards the prior because he could see that her hand was shaking.

Her wings suddenly glowed, but it wasn't the golden light he saw years earlier, instead it was a red light, almost eerily so. He shielded his eyes from the brightness and she was gone when he looked again.

While that took place, the fiery ray she shot down at Fasttrack had turned into a fireball and was nearing him faster than Gwen and Kevin could keep up to it. Although there was no one around, something like that could cause an intense inferno if not stopped in time.

He looked up with gritted teeth as it got closer to the forest floor. There was only one thing he could do and he just hoped that Fasttrack was capable of the task.

If all goes well, he should be able to get out of this not just in one piece, but without his legs becoming as heavy as lead. So that was roughly a fifty/fifty chance at best.

"Well, here goes... everything!" he spoke and started running.

He ran in circles in that rather small yet still modestly sized area. The air around him started to turn into rough winds and gathered around him in a vortex. He started to run faster and it increased the winds speed and ferocity, as well as making the vortex towering and much stronger.

"Never thought I'd ever hear myself say this, but I think this might be the strongest whirlwind I've created in a long time on dry land," he remarked jokingly.

The fireball was eventually swallowed up by the vortex and lit up the entire thing from the center with a bright glow. The light eventually died out, the fireball had been extinguished.

As soon as it was gone, Fasttrack fell to his knees and was hyperventilating strongly, making him feel lightheaded. He turned back into Ben just as all three of them made it to the ground.

"Nice job, Tennyson," Kevin praised snidely as he stepped down from a mana step.

He hung his head back, his eyes were closed, and huffed, "Thanks." He huffed again and asked, "Did you... stop her?"

"She got away again," Gwen told him.

"From..." he huffed again, "what I could see from... down here... it looked like she didn't want... to fight you, Reiny."

Kevin raised an eyebrow at that notion and looked at him, "Yeah, now that you mention it, you don't have a scratch on you. What makes you so special?"

Reinrassig tensed up at what he was potentially suggesting and was silent for a little while before he finally answered, "I... I love her... and she loves me."

He scoffed and rolled his eyes, throwing his hands up, "Not this crap again!"

"Kevin!" she scolded her boyfriend. "He loves her! Wouldn't you be in the same position if it was me?"

"As much as I hate siding with Kevin, he may have a point," Ben spoke. "Reiny, ever since you got here, all you've been concerned with is finding her, even putting others in harm's way. You said it yourself, three worlds are at stake and possibly others too, but all you talk about is finding her and you shot at me twice when I tried to stop her from harming innocent civilians! I'm starting to wonder whose side you're really on!"

"Ben!" his cousin rebuked harshly.

"No," Reinrassig stopped her from going any further, "I can fight my own battles. Who are you to bagger me about who or what I side with?"

"Ever since you got here, all you blabber about is her! And you just can't accept that she doesn't give a damn about you!" Kevin shouted.

Reinrassig tightly clenched his fist and glared down at him, but he was completely unfazed and looked at him with a scornful expression. He released his fist and his glare softened up.

Suddenly, he swatted him with the back of his large hand, sending him flying into a tree. Gwen's hands glowed pink out of habit and he did the same thing to her out of habit, although he was not nearly as rough.

He towered over Ben, who had his hand on the Ultimatrix, and struggled to suppress his anger and sadness, "I believed you were my ally, now I see you're no better than my enemies!"

"Reiny, I am your friend!" he tried to reason with him and calm him down.

"Then, why are you against me?" he questioned angrily.

"I'm not against you!" he claimed nervously as his fingers started to unconsciously fiddle with the Ultimatrix again.

"Don't you dare lie to me!" he snapped. Instead of hitting him, he simply spread his wings and flew away.

"Reiny! Reiny!" he shouted, but he was in no mood to listen to anything he had to say and chose not to hear him as he continued to fly higher. He cursed under his breath and ran a hand through his hair as he started to move around erratically, "Shit!"

Gwen hoisted herself off the ground and placed a hand on her forehead. She groaned, "What... what happened?"

"Reiny left," he replied sadly.

Kevin recovered from the assault and spat, "Good riddance, we don't need him."

This time, Gwen didn't scold him or discipline him in any way. She wasn't even sure why she didn't say anything herself.

Ben had a look on his face that looked like a combination of sadness, guilt, anger and multiple other negative emotions. It wasn't like he was upset with his friend, but he wasn't not upset with him either.

She saw the look on his face and placed a gentle hand on her cousin's shoulder, "Ben, I understand that he's your friend, but right now we have a world to save."

He looked at her with a determined yet sad expression, "You're right, Gwen. We have to save the world, no matter what." He then mentally added sadly, 'Even if that means jeopardizing my friendship with Reiny.'

* * *

Meanwhile, after Reinrassig stormed off in a moment of heated anger, he made the decision to soar off in the direction where Agape took off. With some luck, he may be able to redeem himself with both his friend and his betrothed, in spite of how slim the chances were.

There wasn't much time left, he had to figure that the count down was now much closer to four hours by that time. He wasn't entirely sure if he will leave the planet or stay to, in a sense, go down with his ship like a true leader, or perhaps a failed one.

What kind of leader was he? He couldn't even convince his bride-to-be to return to him so they could marry! Now, three worlds are at stake and potentially dozens or even hundreds more and all of it would be on his shoulders should anything happen.

As he continued to fly through the night sky, he began to wonder what would happen should he be able to get her to leave with him at the last minute? Would they be able to marry? Or would her family call it off because of these recent events?

He then suddenly stopped in mid-air when he realized something, 'Her family! Could that be it?'

He remembered how scared she was of her father when she was young and was nearly panicking when he mentioned her mother. Could it be that this whole thing was occurring because of her parents?

Earlier she said that she couldn't go back to Malak because she would be executed for _peccavisti_. His experience with the Seraph language was shaky at best, but he knew just enough to know that _peccavisti_ means that she has committed a sin or she's corrupted in some way.

Could it be that her engagement to him means that she has committed a sin in the eyes of her people? Her people are very paranoid - to put in delicately - about cross-breeding because they fear the results.

The Nephilim of ancient times were a threat to not just humans and Seraph but also the entire galaxy if given the chance. So, what other option did they have but to wipe them all out with a massive flood?

He could understand why they were afraid of breeding with others, but if they kept that up they would become a mirror image of his own race. And that is a truly terrifying thought.

Now that he knew how all of this happened - or at the very least had an idea of how it happened - he considered going back to inform Ben and his team, but stopped himself. After what he did to them, he doubted they would be so quick to forgive him. Also, he was still upset about the things they said to him, what his friend said to him.

**Y**-**X**-**Y**-O-**Y**-**X**-**Y**

**(A/N: Oh, man, this was an intense chapter, seriously. It's definitely something that's emotionally moving, at least in my own opinion.**

**So, it looks like our old friend Reiny figured it out. Or did he? *Dun! Dun!* He did figure out most of it, but there's still a small (but very important) part that he hasn't figured out yet. **

**Feel free to take any wild guesses if you want to be the one to discover what it is. Who knows? Maybe one of you can discover the answer.**

**"Against All Odds" and "Unknown Life" were updated last week, so you can check them out if you want. I promise that you will find yourselves intrigued by either one.)**


	6. Chapter 6

**(A/N: Well, this chapter is the last chance to say anything before this story comes to an end. So, if you want to say anything or point out something, you better do it before there's really no point in doing so anymore.**

**I hope everyone enjoys this and I hope you've enjoyed everything I've had to offer. Whatever happens next, I can't really say.)**

***X***-*V*-*Y*-*V*-***X***

Sunrise was only a couple of hours away, time was running out, and Ben and his team were no closer to finding Agape then when they started. They were still looking around the forest, but so far their efforts were fruitless.

Ben still felt bad about what happened between them and Reinrassig, his friend. He hadn't said a word about him to his friends, not that they would want to hear about him anyway.

'I wonder if Reiny has had any luck yet?' he asked in his thoughts. 'Maybe he's found her? Then again, maybe not.'

If he did find her, would he tell them? Perhaps... perhaps not. After what Kevin said and after what he said, is he even still his friend? For all he knew he could have left the planet by that time.

Although he doubted that he would just leave them to die, this was the Highbreed who destroyed his television, assaulted his friends and him, and who's bride-to-be tried to kill them. At this point, his feelings about him were a little... he couldn't even come up with the right adjective to describe what his feelings about him were.

The three of them continued to look around the area for a little while longer before Gwen finally spoke, "Guys, this is getting us nowhere."

"Oh, really?" her boyfriend asked sarcastically. "No shit."

"Kevin..." she growled warningly.

"Well, what should we do then? Huh?" he questioned harshly.

"I mean it, Kevin, stop now!" she hissed.

Before anything more could happen between them, Ben stepped in, "Guys, stop this, fighting each other isn't going to save the world."

"Oh, you're one to talk," he retorted.

"Kevin, he's right, this needs to stop," she told him, shaking her head slightly.

"Okay," he finally caved in and calmed down. "So, what should we do now? We only have a couple of hours left."

"And I don't think Reiny would be willing to ask for more time," Ben added before he looked away from them after realizing what he had just said.

"Ben," his cousin started softly, but he cut her off.

"No, I'm fine Gwen," he assured her, choking up briefly, "I shouldn't have said anything."

"Can't believe I'm hearing myself say this, but if he was here we could probably find his crazy bride a lot faster," Kevin commented. "Seeing as how he's always able to find her and we're not."

"You know, you have a point, he's able to find her with ease while we struggle with it," Gwen uttered, holding her chin.

"You're right, but how do you think he's doing it?" her cousin asked. "If he's even doing anything."

"Maybe it has something to do with those little spines on his face," her boyfriend remarked.

"Kevin, this is a serious question," she scolded, then realized something. "Wait a second, I think you might be onto something."

"He is?/I am?" the two boys questioned in unison.

"Possibly," she answered, "but just think for a second. We fought dozens of Highbreed last year and Ben's known Reiny quite a while."

"Where are you going with this, Gwen?" her cousin asked.

"What I'm saying is that even though we've met so many of them, we really don't know much about them," she pointed out.

"Sure we do," he replied. "We know that they're strong, that they can fly, they have tentacles, they have these claw dart things, they…" he tried to think of anything else, but couldn't. "Okay, maybe you have a point."

"Maybe those little spines are some kind of sensors, kind of like sonor," Kevin suggested.

"Now that you mention it, every time we fought them it was like they had eyes in the back of their head," he mentioned. "They always seemed to know what the next move might be."

He remembered when he first met his friend and he claimed that Kevin damaged the transmission. How could he have known that if he was facing the teleporter pod when it happened?

"Maybe those sensors act as their ears and maybe even their nose," she estimated. "It's possible."

"In that case, if he already knows where to go, then our best course of action should probably be to go in the direction he left and hope for the best," Kevin stated.

"But, wait, how are we going to find him?" Ben asked.

He took out the tracking device he used earlier, "Easy." A holographic grid showed them that he was traveling west.

They went back to the cars and all three got into Kevin's car. They used the tracking device as a GPS as they drove off.

* * *

Reinrassig wasn't exactly certain of how long he had been flying, but he had a feeling she was close by. Of course he wouldn't know until he was within a certain radius of her, but he was trying to be optimistic. Especially since time was running low.

After some time he was finally able to pick up something. Something he was all too familiar with and it was very close by.

He was led to an area that had been recently scorched. The grassy ground was completely charcoal black, trees were the same condition and some were still burning slightly, there were even the badly burnt remains of animals. Sickening and heartbreaking all at once.

He landed on the rough dead grass when he saw something. Or rather someone.

At the center of this dreadful sight was the one he was looking for. She was on her knees and was absorbing the life-energy that still remained in the ground.

She was looking at the ground and didn't seem to notice he was there. She was also panting heavily as if she was either completely drained of energy or drunk on adrenaline.

He began to slowly approach her in case she was still hostile. With each stride he was nearing closer to her one foot at a time.

Now that he was closer to her, he could see that she was also trembling slightly as if afraid. She still did not look at him and he was almost hesitant to say a word to her, but did so nonetheless.

"Agape," he whispered as softly as he could, which was not easy with a deep voice.

She still did not look at him and she was still trembling as well, though her panting had subsided. He wondered if she was terrified or if she was about to leave again.

"Please, look at me," he pleaded gently.

It took some time, but she eventually did so and looked up at him. Her eyes were glowing, but it was a very slight glow unlike all of the other times this happened, this allowed him to fully look into her eyes and read her like an open book. He got onto his knees to get a better look at her.

Her pupils were very small, like the marks of a peppered insect. The evil red that flooded over her once innocent blue irises showed an intensity and an uncontainable demon of chaos that she struggled to chain.

He could see that she was hurting and knew that there was only one way to stop this pain. She would have to release this monster inside of her.

She clenched her fists and tightly gripped the dead ground. "Leave," she whispered. "You must leave before it's too late. They are coming and I cannot stop myself."

"No, I will not," he declared gently. "I love you and I believe I know why you are this way."

She tilted her head slightly, "You do?"

He nodded, "You are afraid, but it is not me you are afraid of." Her eyes widened and she made an attempt to stand and leave, but he grabbed onto her wrists. "No! Stay."

She started to inhale heavily, he could see her chest rising and falling in an unbalanced rhythm. It took a minute, but she was eventually able to get her breathing back to a steady rhythm.

"It's your family, is it not?" he inquired.

She did not respond immediately and instead hung her head in shame. She started to choke up slightly and was beginning to tremble again. He started to gently caress her hands in an attempt to sooth and assure her.

"It is safe, you can tell me," he reassured.

It took a little time, but she eventually gave a very slight nod, "Yes, it is my family I fear."

"What did they tell you?" he asked.

"They said," she choked up slightly, "they would have me put to death for choosing to be with you."

He immediately thought back to what she said earlier, she said that she wanted to be with him as much as he wanted to be with her. It was reassuring to know that she had the same feelings for him as he did for her.

"That will never happen," he told her in a firm yet reassuring manner.

Tears pooling at the corners of her eyes threatened to pour down her cheeks like waterfalls. "There is nothing you can do about it. My mother is very persuasive, she will convince my uncle that I had committed a sin by desiring to be with you."

"I have the right to nullify a decision such as that as your significant other," he claimed.

He was unsure if he would be able to accomplish such a feat realistically, but he could at least hope. She wasn't just someone he was about to marry, she was a defenseless woman in a controlling, high-rank family who needs her voice and mind to be heard.

However, there was something about all of this that greatly confused him. If her family wants to control her by threatening execution, why would they threaten to declare war? It was as if their feelings about her were very... controversial, to put it lightly.

On one hand, they want her dead because she wants to make a decision for herself. On the other hand, they want her alive because otherwise it would be hell for the people they declare war against and anyone else who gets caught in the crossfire.

Now he was confused. How could they be so controlling and yet so protective at the same time? It was more than just a conflict of interest, it was like a case of obsessiveness gone severely bad.

Putting aside the theory - which was more or less a hypothesis if anything - he was still wondering about one thing: why did she leave her home planet in the first place? He never requested for her to visit him, nor did she say that she would be travelling to Augstaka for a visit at all. He was informed of what happened to her from a soldier who was at a Plumber satellite in Earth's orbit. That soldier recognized the ships used on Malak and immediately contacted him.

"Tell me, why did you leave Malak at all?" he questioned. "We never discussed a visitation."

She was silent for a prolonged period and she looked very afraid and guilty. Once again, she tried to leave, but he stopped her again. There's no escaping from this, she had to tell him.

"I-" just as she was about to tell him, bright lights suddenly interrupted their peaceful isolation.

Those lights were from the highlights of Ben and Kevin's cars. Just who they needed right now.

'Delightful,' he thought sarcastically.

They got up from the ground, he stood in front of her in a fashion similar to that of a bodyguard. She didn't look afraid of them, she looked more angry than fearful.

Ben and his team got out of the cars and walked in front of the vehicles. They had been following the signal Reinrassig gave off and it looked like their plan worked, there she was.

"Why are you here?" he hissed.

"You know why," Kevin growled. Gwen nudged his side roughly.

"We've been tracking you, Reiny," Ben spoke. "It wasn't personal."

"Personal?!" he snapped. "You tracking me against my knowledge is the definition of personal!"

Gwen acted as the pacifist and tried to calm him down, "I know you feel that it wasn't right, and it wasn't, but you have to understand why we had to."

"We can do this the easy way," her boyfriend started, then absorbed the metal of his car's hood, "or, my favorite, the hard way."

"This doesn't have to be this way," his friend told him. "We don't need to do it this way."

After hearing all of this, Agape was about to explode. She couldn't believe all of this, after everything they had been through together, this was the ultimate betrayal in her eyes.

She shot a ray at the ground near Reinrassig's feet, "You led them to me?! You don't care about me at all!"

"No! It's not true!" he claimed. "I care about you very much."

"Liar!" she roared, she then fluttered her wings and elevated off the ground. "I should not be the one executed, you are the one who has committed a sin."

Before she could go anywhere, he took her hands in his again. "No, please, do not leave again!"

"Apologies, _mea amo_, I must do what's best," she uttered. "For a long time, I fought this monster inside of me, believing it will consume me and I will never return. Now, it appears I must embrace it, rather than fight it."

He held her hands tighter and unconsciously pulled her towards him, "No, please, don't."

He cupped her face and it seemed to calm her down, but only for a second. She pulled away from him and soared up. From there, she created a ring of fire around them, entrapping them.

Ben was about to transform again, but Gwen beat him to the cut, "Tur-bo!"

She released a whirlwind of mana that extinguished the flames in a matter of seconds. The pink winds then died out just a second later.

Ben let a sigh, "Glad that problem was solved quickly. Now, she couldn't have gotten far, we need to-"

He was cut off by Reinrassig slapping him across the face. He was hit so hard it felt as if his face was on fire. He figured that the strike was strong enough to rip the flesh off and expose the muscle and blood vessels underneath.

"I had it under control!" he shouted. "Why did you interfere?"

"Under control?" Kevin repeated angrily and sarcastically. "You know better than any of us that it was just a matter of time before she took you out. Or us for that matter!"

"She was about to tell me why she was attempting to visit me before her crash," he told them harshly.

"Back up, what are you talking about?" Gwen inquired.

"I had no idea she was on her way to visit me before her crash," he answered. "We did not converse concerning a planned visitation."

"Maybe she wasn't visiting you," he remarked with a smirk. She smacked him on the back of the head.

"Her people are against adultery and are very strict when it comes to chastity until marriage," he nearly snapped. "She would never defy her customs or betray me!"

Ben then tried to get him to relax, "Whoa, okay, chill out. Just relax."

"Okay, so if she was trying to secretly visit you for some reason, what do you think it was?" she questioned.

"I wish I knew," he responded. "All I know is that she has a fear of her family."

"Her family?" his friend asked. "What do you mean?"

"I believe her transformation into her dark form may have to do with her family. I remember her father was very strict with her and she was petrified when he mentioned her mother," he told them.

"So, you're saying that she was going to you to get away from her parents?" Kevin asked. "That's one hell of a story."

"Kevin, he might be right," she spoke. "Remember her reaction when he told her that he could get her help if they go to her home planet? I'd say she's scared to death of them."

"But, wait, I'm confused, why would they threaten war if they don't give a damn about her?" Ben questioned.

"She was about to tell me when you arrived," he answered. "Unless we find her, we will never know."

***X***-*V*-*Y*-*V*-***X***

**(A/N: **_**Finally **_**done! Oh, man. This took forever to finish, I was able to get it done. Just so you know, the next chapter will be the last. Again, if there's something you want to say, you better do it.**

**I updated "Against All Odds" just a couple of days ago and I published a "Star Wars" story called "Hunter to Hero" just the other day. Feel free to check them out if you want.)**


	7. Chapter 7

**(A/N: Well, here we are, the final chapter. I'm very content that I'm finally finishing this. It's a very surreal feeling, but in a good way.**

**It was just something that I came up with and thought I could make a story out of it. I know that it doesn't have a lot of supporters, but that's never stopped me before.**

**I really hope you guys are ready for this. This has been a blast for me to write and I'm proud of it no matter what, even if it may not be my best work.)**

*V*-*V***~X~**o**~X~***V*-*V*

"Quick, how much time do we have left?" Ben asked.

Kevin checked the time on his Plumber badge, "Roughly forty minutes. We may as well start kissing our planet goodbye, we'll never be able to find her in time."

"Don't jinx it, Kevin!" Gwen scolded. "And never say that. We will find her and set this whole thing straight."

'Why doesn't that reassure me?' he questioned rhetorically and sarcastically in his thoughts.

Ben then addressed his Highbreed friend, "So, Reiny, we have a theory about how it seems you're able to find her so easily."

He looked at him questionably, although it was hard for him to tell, "Oh? How so?"

He pointed at his own face, "We believe it has something to do with these spines on your face. Like, they act as your ears and nose."

He looked impressed by the conclusion they were able to come up with, "You are close."

Ben was about to ask what that meant, but Kevin interrupted him, "I hate to interrupt you guys, but in case you forgot we have a planet that's going to be destroyed in less than an hour."

"Right. Can we use our badges to track her?" he asked.

"You don't need to," Reinrassig spoke.

"Why is that?" Gwen inquired.

He pointed at the spines that bordered either side of his face, "Are correct about these. They are used for sound and scent, however, they serve another purpose."

"And what's that exactly?" Kevin asked.

"When she accepted my hand in marriage, I took a sample of DNA from her. That small sample became a part of my nervous system," he explained.

"So, wait, you can track her with that?" Ben questioned.

He went stiff for a moment, "To an extent."

Before any of them could ask what that meant, they received a message on their badges. A holographic image of a man then appeared. It was someone Reinrassig knew and despised. He was Ambassador Gabriel, Agape's father.

He had aged since the first time Reinrassig had seen him on Malak, although there weren't too many wrinkles on his face. He wore robes similar to the ones he wore years earlier and still wore the winged cross necklace around his neck.

Among the things that were and were not different about him, on his face was the blank expression he wore when he visited Malak as a child. However, it was more bitter and he wore an arrogant sneer, as if to tell anyone who had received this message that they were inferior to him and his high status. Something he was very familiar with.

"_Greetings, Earthlings, I am Ambassador Gabriel of the planet Malak. I am inclined to inform you we are prepared to invade your world unless my daughter is returned to me_," he announced in a calm, unemotional, and formal tone.

The transmission then showed a fleet of starships that looked nearly impenetrable. It then showed some of the soldiers, all wore identical gold and steel armor and were armed with weapons on their waistbands that although looked very basic, were actually very powerful.

"_As you can see, we are quite powerful and will use any means necessary in order to locate my daughter_," he continued, a back-note of arrogance could be heard in his voice. "_If we find her alive, no shots will be fired. However, if she is deceased, we will have no other choice but to declare war. You have until sunrise_."

With that, the message ended. And it left three very distracted deputized Plumber agents and an upset Highbreed.

"Okay, I'm just gonna say it, her Dad's a real dick!" Kevin yelled.

"With an army like that we've gotta tell grandpa Max," Ben asserted.

"I'm sure he knows by now, Ben," his cousin assured him.

"Reiny, do you think you can find her?" he asked his friend.

"Truthfully, I have no idea," he admitted. "All of the times I found her today was due to luck."

"Luck?!" Kevin snapped. "Are you saying that you lied to us?!"

He held his hands up defensively, "No, what I told you earlier was true, only under certain conditions, however."

He covered his eyes with his hand and moved around erratically in frustration, "This is just great! This is just great!"

Gwen shot mana at him and it wrapped around his body. She shook him slightly, "Kevin, stop. Panicking about it isn't going to solve anything."

"She's right, we need to stop thinking about them and start thinking about how to stop her without any harm on either side," Ben stated. "Reiny, do you think you can find her?"

"I- I am uncertain," he replied, his lack of confidence in his tone of voice reflected his response.

"Well, just try, okay?" he smiled.

"While we're at it, I think I might know a way to stop her," Gwen uttered.

Her cousin looked at her with a raised eyebrow, "Really?"

"Yeah, really?" Kevin questioned, somewhat doubtful.

She nodded, "Remember how she was absorbing the energy from the tree?"

"Where are you going with this?" her boyfriend inquired.

"Grandma Verdona said that all life contains mana, the energy of life itself. If that was mana she was absorbing, I can use a spell to take it from her," she explained.

While she was telling them about her theory and her plan, Reinrassig was in deep concentration. Up until this point, whenever he found her, it was, in fact, due to pure luck. However, he was aware of a way to locate her without praying that it would be her and not someone or something else.

It involves relaxing his mind and body and shutting out everything in the outside world. It was a long shot and he wasn't even sure if it would work, but he had to do something.

Eventually, he was able to detect her. Specifically, it was the DNA sample he took from her, it was embedded in his nervous system and it reacted when it recognized the source it came from.

As confusing as that may sound, it's quite simple in actuality. The spines that frame his face were wired to a nervous system separate from the rest of his body. How it works was if he smelled or heard something new - or strands of DNA in this case - it became encoded in the memory of this separate nervous system. If he comes across the source again, his spines send a reaction to the rest of his body.

The tiny spines also had other purposes, but that's something no one needs to know. Not when they had some worlds to save from a devastating war.

He extended his wings and commanded them as he took flight, "Follow me!"

Ben activated the Ultimatrix and transformed into Jetray again, "Jetray!" He took flight and flew after his friend.

Kevin sighed as he and Gwen got into his car, "Here we go again."

He started his car and hit the gas at full power in order to keep up with them. The force of the speed caused the seat belt over Gwen to lock and put pressure on her chest and neck, making it very uncomfortable for her.

"Kevin, slow down!" she choked, coughing slightly.

"We can't!" he protested. "We have to keep up with them if we want to save anyone."

As much as she would like to argue with him, he was right. There was a lot at stake here and it was up to them to put a stop to it no matter what happens. She put up with the pressure on her upper body and the edge of the seat belt digging into her neck. Although she was silently praying that it would be over shortly.

Her prayers came true when they finally came to a stop. She had no time to brace herself when he slammed on the brakes and choked slightly. She started coughing when the seat belt finally loosened.

When she looked up, she saw that there was no one there. Why were they stopping if no one was there?

"I don't understand, where are-" she looked to her side to look at her boyfriend, but all that was there was an empty seat. She saw him standing outside staring up at the sky.

She hastily unhooked her seat belt and opened the door. She practically jumped out of the car and joined up with him.

"What's going on?" she asked.

He pointed upwards, "Up there."

Her eyes followed the direction of his hand and she was utterly surprised by what she saw. In the semi-dark sky, Reinrassig had somehow managed to catch up to her and wrapped his long arms around her to keep her in place.

Agape struggled against him and tried to break free from his strong hold, but he wouldn't let go. The more she resisted, however, the harder it was for him to keep his aerial balance.

Jetray was on standby, ready to do anything in case she's able to break free from his friend's grip. He wasn't taking any chances, his tail and eyes were already charged up and ready to fire if needed.

While Reinrassig continued to struggle to keep her in place, she continuously struggled against his hold on her. However, once he held her head against his chest and she could hear the rhythm of his heart beating and feel the warmth of his body against hers, she started to relax.

"Try to bring her down!" Jetray called out to his friend. He nodded.

Gradually and carefully, he retracted his wings ever so slightly and started to descend with her in his arms. He had to be ever so careful and had to time it just right, one wrong move and this will have all been for nothing.

It may have taken some time, but he was eventually able to get them both down safely. Jetray came down once he was sure that he wouldn't have to take any drastic measures. He then changed back into Ben.

Gwen used her powers to get an estimation of how much mana she had in her. When she did, however, it caused a violent and provocative reaction from her. She started kicking and screaming, trying to break free of her Highbreed betroth's strong hold, but he would not let go.

Ben immediately activated the Ultimatrix and transformed again. He turned into a familiar red alien with four arms.

"Four Arms!" he exclaimed.

He helped his friend keep her in place, but she was definitely much stronger than she looked. If a Tetramand struggles to restrain someone, they must be freakishly strong.

He looked back at his team, "Any time now, Gwen!"

She tried to eye an angle where she could get a clear shot to cast the spell, but there were none. "I can't. You and Reiny are in the way."

He and Reinrassig exchanged glances and both knew what to do. Four Arms grabbed a hold of her arm, while he held the other, and moved to his friend's side. Together, both of them held her up like a person who was to be crucified in order to give Gwen a clear shot.

Agape fluttered her wings and struggled against their hold on her arms, but they would not let go. As much as it hurt Reinrassig to do this to the woman he loves, it had to be done.

Gwen traced out a pink triangle in the air and directed it at her, "Contigo!"

She cried out in agony as the life-force she drained was drained from her body and given back to the life she took it from. Reinrassig thought he was about to faint after seeing her in that condition. She hung her head as the rest of it was taken from her body.

Suddenly, her head arose as if the energy had somehow returned. She stretched out both of her hands and twisted her wrists so that her palms were directed upwards.

She concentrated as much energy as she could into her palms. A powerful and almost eerie fiery glow emerged in her hands, aimed right up at both of them. The glow reflected on the surface of the eyes of both of them.

"I thought you drained her dry!" Kevin shouted.

"She must be using her own mana!" Gwen surmised.

Just as she was about to release the energy in her palms, she looked into the eyes of her betrothed. She hesitated to release the power that would likely be the death of him and her with it being her own life-force.

She then directed her right hand downwards and shot down at the ground, setting it ablaze. Since it was the side Four Arms held her, he had no other choice but to let her go or be burned. The fire created was a rather small one and quickly burned out.

Kevin and Four Arms were about to go in for an attack, but Gwen stopped them by using bands of mana to hold them back. Instead of arguing with her, they backed off without a fight.

She still hesitated to release the power, if she did, it would take both to a certain death. There might still be some rage in her, but she didn't want either one of them to die.

Suddenly, he moved his hand from her arm to her wrist. She moved her body to face him and he took his free hand in hers. His hold on her was firm yet loose enough to allow her free movement.

"If you want to annihilate me…" he moved her hand to the center of his chest, "...then precede." His tone was stoic, but there was a passion and agony in his voice that she could hear clearly. "Prove to me this is what you wish."

It was hard for her to maintain eye contact with him as her hand shook while he still held her wrist. He tightened his grip on her other hand as he awaited her final decision.

She sighed and closed her eyes, resting her forehead on his chest. There were no shots fired as the energy returned to her body. He moved his hand from her wrist and covered her hand with his.

"No. I still love you with all my heart," she uttered softly.

He released a hand and held her chin up so that they were looking into each other's eyes. Her demonic, blood red eyes returned to their natural angelic blue; the eyes of the woman he loved more than anything.

He wrapped his free arm around her to keep her in place, which she draped hers at the base of his neck. They shared a sweet, but passionate kiss between them and neither wanted it to stop.

It was somewhat of an awkward sight to Kevin because it was a beautiful woman kissing an alien that doesn't have a mouth. Reinrassig - and Highbreed in general - actually does have a mouth, he just doesn't have any need for it because his species' diet is primarily liquids. She, however, knew exactly where it was.

As their kiss continued, her demonic form suddenly began to change. Her dark hair turned back to its natural platinum blonde, her scaly, charcoal-colored skin was now smooth and fair just as it should be, and her dragon-like wings turned back into feathers.

Her wings quickly covered her naked body before Kevin and Ben could be given the chance to look at her. Gwen was relieved, she didn't want to waste her mana just to cover their eyes.

When they finally separated, a ship not so different from the one Agape had before she crash landed not too far away from them. The hatch opened and her father walked out with a couple of guards and her older brother, Uriel, who's a Commander for her people's army.

Her father and brother grimace when they saw her in the arms of Reinrassig. To them and the rest of her family, there was nothing more disgusting than a Seraph in the arms of a Highbreed.

She set foot onto the ground as her father and brother approached. Both had blank yet disgusted, lion-like gazes on their faces. She held the hand of her betrothed as they came towards them, her heart beating faster than a train.

"Agape Noelle de Yawé," her father addressed her as soon as he approached them with his son.

"Father," she gave a slow nod of respect.

"We are grateful to find you alive," Uriel smiled, although both she and he could tell it was as impure as artificial preservatives.

"Now war will not need to be declared," Ambassador Gabriel looked at the three Earthlings, "you should consider yourselves lucky."

'Oh, yeah, we do,' Kevin thought sarcastically.

They began to walk away and Ambassador Gabriel demanded his daughter, "Come. It's time for us to take our leave."

She remained frozen in place, she did not want to follow them. Sensing her distress, Reinrassig gave her hand a squeeze. She looked up at him and he gave her a look that told her to speak up for herself. And that's exactly what she did.

"No. I will not follow," she told them sternly.

Both stopped in their tracks and turned around. Uriel looked impressed by his youngest sister, while their father looked upset.

"You will come with us to Malak now!" he demanded, nearly sneering at her; his own daughter.

Her response to this was straightforward and simple, "No."

Seeing how serious she was and surmising that she will not back down and beg for forgiveness with a bow, he finally caved in. He sighed, "Fine. Come, Uriel, we will traverse to Malak without her."

Uriel stayed behind for a moment to give his sister a proud look of approval and a nod with a small smile. It was the first time she had ever been given such a look by any member of her family.

Both men entered the ship and ascended. They took to the skies and the ship was gone in a flash.

As soon as they left, Kevin got another message on his Plumber badge. This time, it was from Uriel, "_Greetings, people of Earth, I am Commander Uriel of Malak. I am pleased to inform you that we will not be invading your world._" He then paused for a moment and seemed to look directly at Agape. "_And Agape, my sister, if you're watching this, I want you to know that I'm proud of you and I support your choice._"

She smiled at the holographic projection of her brother. She was content to hear that from him, or anyone in her family for that matter and it felt so surreal to her. It felt as if a huge weight had been lifted off of her and gave her the strength to break her chains.

She suddenly felt light-headed and nearly fell to the ground, but Reinrassig caught her. "Are you alright?"

She blinked a couple of times, "Yes, I'm fine."

Gwen came up to her with a flowy white gown with long sleeves, "Here you go. You might want to cover up."

She looked down at herself and saw that she had her wings around her. She took the garment from her gratefully, "Thank you."

She then created four walls of mana to give her privacy while she changed. She made sure the walls were higher than Reinrassig's height so that he wouldn't be tempted to peak under the curtain so to speak.

She quickly changed into the plain gown and flew out of the mana box. She soared up into the skies and did a twirl, causing the lengthy skirt to spin in unison with the air around her like that of a ballerina.

When she stopped twirling, she closed her eyes and spread her arms out. Her wings glowed the same glow he saw when he was a child, when he first met her and felt happiness for the first time.

Ben and his friends were startled to see healthy, vibrant grass growing in the soil. It was as if the light had returned life to the earth underneath their feet that had been previously dry and mostly barren.

Reinrassig, however, had no interest in the crisp life growing beneath his feet and all around him. He had his red eyes set solely on the beautiful woman in the sky. He extended his wings and flew up to be with her.

She opened her eyes with a radiant smile when she saw the one before her. He took her small hands in his large ones once again and they kissed again. This time, it felt like there were fireworks going off all around them.

They then separated from each other and started to fly around in circles. They looked like two doves engaged in a dance as they soared up to the heavens.

It was quite a sight for the three heroes to watch from the ground, it was as if they were doing it as a way of thanking them. They watched with smiles on their faces as they flew around in unison to the cycling wind that followed them and the movements of each other.

* * *

The sun had risen from beyond the horizon and was beginning to make the slow journey into the sky overhead. It was time for people to emerge from their homes and go about their daily lives. And it was time for Reinrassig and Agape to depart from Earth.

The hatch to Reinrassig's ship was open and the couple stood at the base. The three heroes they owed much gratitude to were standing before them.

"I cannot thank you enough for your services," Reinrassig praised gratefully and content.

"Nor can I," Agape grinned, her tone of voice mirroring his.

Ben waved it off with a smile, "No big deal."

"Where do you plan on going after this?" Kevin asked, although he really didn't care all that much.

"To Augstaka," he answered. "We have much planning to do."

"For your wedding?" Gwen inquired.

"Precisely," she responded, still smiling.

Her betrothed placed a hand on her shoulder, it was his green hand. She looked up at him, her smile now brighter.

"We must be taking our leave now," he told them. He held out his hand to Ben and they shook hands. "Until next time."

He nodded in respect, "See you around and good luck you guys."

'I have a feeling we will need it,' Agape thought.

She knew that just because one of her siblings accepted her decision, that didn't mean that the rest of her family would so easily. She would definitely need as much luck as she could get to accomplish that feat with the type of family she had.

"Shall we?" her lover asked her.

"We shall," she replied, mildly playful.

They made their way up the ramp of the hatch and into the ship. The ramp retracted as soon as they entered and the hatch closed.

Together, they watched through a window as they began to ascend. The ship took to the skies and the team of three heroes waved goodbye as the ship disappeared.

Once they were soaring through the vacuum of space, she leaned into his side and he draped an arm around her, as if to protect her. She could rest blissfully now that she no longer has to worry about her family. The chains that kept her restrained for so long were no more, she was free. Free from her family and free to be with the one she loves the most.

*V*-*V***~X~**o**~X~***V*-*V*

**(A/N: And there you have it ladies and gentlemen, the end of this story. I'm so blessed to have been able to write this and finish it. I really hope you enjoyed this. **:) :) :)

**There were some points where I thought I'd never finish this, but I did. I just feel so proud and so thankful to the people that stuck around to read this.**

**There will be a sequel to this story, but not until much later. It'll likely be some time before I'm able to get started on it.**

**Once again, I hope you enjoyed this from start to finish and I hope you stick around for the sequel. Thank you.)**


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